Just a day after the Santa Claus Parade hit the streets of Winnipeg, a heavy snowfall in Manitoba resulted in the Trans-Canada Highway being shut down for traffic between Headingley and Portage la Prairie.

Hwy. No. 1 was closed at about 6 a.m. Sunday, leaving a kilometre-long line of semi-trailer truck drivers stranded in Headingley and on the Flying J Travel Plaza lot.

“Whenever it snows, we get days like this, we’re always full,” said a man who answered the phone at the Flying J. “Whenever someone calls, I just tell them to call 511 (for highway information).”

The lot holds more than 50 trucks, he said.

“The highway was closed due to poor driving conditions and high winds reduced visibility,” said RCMP Sgt. Rob Lockhart.

The highway re-opened at about 2:10 p.m.

“There wasn’t a lot of snow but the roads were pretty icy,” said Dan Fulton, a Winnipeg-based Environment Canada meteorologist. “It had been mild out so it melted, then froze, causing the roads to be slippery.”

Although No. 1 was the only highway that closed, travel was not recommended in other areas of the province. In fact, Sunday’s scheduled Manitoba Junior Hockey League game between the Dauphin Kings and the Oil Caps in Virden was postponed due to poor weather and travel conditions.

However, no major highway accidents were reported.

About 4-5 centimetres of snow fell in the city overnight while about 10 centimetres fell in the Interlake-Riding Mountain region, Fulton said. But it was all expected to taper off by Sunday evening.